Tennis is a well known game played on a standardized court. The tennis court comprises a rectangular playing area bounded by two spaced apart end lines which are connected together by side lines. Each side of the tennis court is usually provided with two parallel side lines, a singles line used for singles play and a doubles line used for doubles play. This playing area is bisected across the middle thereof by the tennis net. The tennis net can have various forms, but customarily includes a net strung under tension between two relatively permanent end posts. The end posts are most often set at a location outside of the doubles lines on the court.
Under the formal rules of tennis, as set out by the various governing bodies thereof, the tennis net must have a particular height at various points along its length. For example, the low point of the tennis net is usually at the center thereof where it is cinched by a strap fixed to the court to attain the correct height. The net slopes gradually upwardly from this center point until it reaches the end posts. As a practical matter, the height of the end posts is chosen so that when the net crosses the doubles line it will have the correct height above the ground to satisfy the rules of play for doubles. Unfortunately, this same net position used for doubles play does not satisfy the rules for regulation singles play since the height of the net as it crosses the singles line is too low.
Because it is most desirable to have a single tennis court that can be used for both singles and doubles play, the problem of adjusting the tennis net to regulation height for singles play has been solved by using what is known as a singles stick. This stick is simply an elongated member or board having a notch in the top which is jammed between the tennis net and the ground. This is usually done at a predetermined location outside the singles court with the singles stick being of a sufficient height so that it will raise the top of the net the amount necessary to convert it to regulation singles play, i.e. the height of the net above the ground at the singles line will be exactly correct. U.S. Pat. No. 4,440,393 to Smith shows a singles stick of this type. Thus, most tennis courts are built with the end posts and the net normally being set for doubles play with singles sticks being used when necessary to convert the net to regulation singles play.
While singles sticks are effective for the purpose for which they are intended, namely converting the net from doubles to singles play, known singles sticks have a number of disadvantages. For one thing, they are 42 inches long. Thus, such sticks are quite cumbersome for a tennis player to store and carry, thus discouraging their use. For example, a conventional, unitary singles stick is too long to fit into the equipment bag that most tennis players use to carry their tennis racket, tennis balls, and the like. Thus, the singles stick must be carried separately, which is obviously a disadvantage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,432 to Cheney discloses a singles stick which can be assembled from a plurality of shorter sections. The sections are assembled end to end relative to one another with a dowel on the top of one section fitting via a press fit into a socket on the bottom of another section. When all the sections are assembled together, they form a singles stick having the correct length.
While making the singles stick from separate sections eases the task of carrying the singles stick in an equipment bag, the Cheney approach has its own disadvantages. First, if any one of the sections of the stick is lost or misplaced, the stick is useless since it cannot be assembled to its full length. In addition, if the stick is hit or struck by a ball, the sections making up the stick can come apart, requiring that the stick be reassembled and placed again at its proper position on the court. Moreover, assembling a plurality of sections end to end, such as the three sections of the stick shown in Cheney, can be difficult to do, particularly if the press fit between the sections becomes loose. Thus, the sections of the stick can come apart while attempting to assemble or place the stick between the net and the court.